President Donald Trump has stepped in to defend FIFA President Gianni Infantino, throwing his weight behind a staunch ally as calls for the international soccer boss’ resignation have reached a fever pitch.
Trump had earlier distanced himself from the FIFA president’s proposal to sell off private stakes in the World Cup, which resulted in an escalating conflict from which Infantino was forced to backtrack.
“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!”
Trump’s comments come in direct contrast to the position CONCACAF, the federation in charge of U.S. soccer, took in response to Infantino’s privatization scheme.
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Infantino was forced to drop the idea earlier this month, acknowledging the project had created “divisions of a nature that … are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” CONCACAF wrote in an “open letter to the football family” on Monday, joined by Asia and Europe’s confederations. The organization has repeatedly suggested it has both lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership and is seeking avenues for accountability, including the FIFA president’s resignation.
Infantino is in hot water with the U.S. for other reasons, too: Weeks after this year’s World Cup ended, host cities are still chasing FIFA for millions of dollars they believe the governing body had promised them, The Athletic reported.
Infantino had developed a close relationship with Trump leading up to this year’s World Cup, which was jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Infantino also reportedly ran his privatization proposal by figures within Trump’s orbit before announcing the plans last month. Joshua Kushner — the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — was considered a potential key investor in the proposal, sources told The Times of London.
Before Trump’s social media post on Monday, the White House distanced itself from the affair as concerns spread. Trump told reporters in early August that he had never spoken with Infantino about the plans.
Infantino reportedly sought private talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump as he faced growing pressure to resign, according to the New York Post and The Times. FIFA’s official media account said Infantino had not called Trump or members of his administration — calling it “pure fiction” — and a State Department spokesperson said Rubio and Infantino never spoke.
CONCACAF and UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, both rejected Infantino’s plan within days of its announcement — an objection that initially proved difficult for the FIFA president to work around. However, Mexico’s federation broke with the U.S., backing Infantino in a move that could potentially serve the country’s longer-term soccer interests. The country joined financial heavyweights like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in support of the plan.
UEFA last week threatened Infantino, Joshua Kushner, JP Morgan and others involved with “legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints” over the doomed plans, The Telegraph reported. The letters warned against destroying or deleting any relevant documents ahead of potential legal action: “Given that proceedings are reasonably anticipated, you are obliged to preserve all relevant materials … with immediate effect.”
The European governing body had also said none of its teams would participate in future international matches unless they have assurances that Infantino will block FIFA competitions from private ownership. Unlike other global associations, UEFA has incredible leverage: It comprises a majority of top-seeded teams across the most recent men’s and women’s world cups, and the contests cannot realistically proceed without European participation, especially as the 2030 men’s tournament is scheduled to take place across stadiums in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Others within the organization openly criticized Infantino’s proposal and its rollout, saying they were blindsided by the plans. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino who sat on Trump’s White House World Cup Task Force, publicly resigned over the issue.
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